Reid is 2 months old

Dear Reid,

Yesterday you turned 2 months old. How has that happened? It literally feels like I was just in the hospital with you brand new and in my arms. You are growing at light-speed, little boy. I've heard people say that second babies grow faster than first babies, and I can totally agree. Some days I just want to beg you to slow down and just be my tiny baby forever, and then some days I recognize how wonderfully you are growing and developing, and I am proud.

This month was a tough one, both for you and for me. We are both trying to figure out how you fit into this life, and it's both exhilarating and exhausting. You are very much a momma's boy, and you want nothing less than to be in my arms or pressed against my body at all hours of the day and night. I really don't mind because I know how quickly you are growing and that soon you won't let me hold you, but right now you're making it pretty hard to get anything accomplished. This seems to be the month of wonder weeks-- I think we've gone through 3 of them this month. These weeks are proof that you are growing by leaps and bounds, but they also cause you to be more fussy and clingy than normal. So we've done a lot of cuddling together. 

When you turned 6 weeks old, you had a doctor's appointment. You weighed 10 pounds, 10 ounces (that means you gained 2 pounds and 3 ounces since birth). You also grew an inch in height, making  your official height 21.5 inches. I credit all that growth to your expert nursing skills. You are seriously a pro at nursing. You eat every 2 hours, like clockwork. You even eat every 2 hours at night with the rare occasion that you'll sometimes sleep through a feeding. One night, you slept from 9:30 PM to 4 AM! It was only a one-time thing, but it was nice. You're still sleeping by my side at night, and you're not showing any signs that you're ready to move to your crib yet. I tried to have you nap in your crib yesterday and you would not have any part of that. You cried like your heart was broken for 15 minutes after I picked you up. We'll try again in a week or two.

You are starting to give smiles a little more freely now, even smiling at people you are not familiar with. You smile the most in the mornings, and sometimes you'll wake me up early in the morning just to look in my eyes and smile and coo. You're finding your voice, and it's just too adorable. I love to hear you coo. Another thing you've found this month is your fist: you have started sucking on it when a pacifier is not avaailable. Those sucking noises are adorable. You are also learning how to track things with your eyes, and you really seem to enjoy watching your big brother play. When you are awake, you are only happy if you're in a sitting position -- forget trying to get you to lie down for more than a few minutes.

I am seeing you start to come into your own. You are developing your own likes and dislikes, and it's really neat to watch you become your own person. You are starting to love bathtime (you hated baths before). I bought you a new bath seat that sits you right in the big bathtub, and you are perfectly content relaxing in the water while Cohen plays next to you. You are starting to enjoy play time, too. You typically don't like to leave my arms for any amount of time, but you'll make an exception when I lay you in your crib and surround you with some of your toys. You like to bat at the toys and coo at them.

You really are just the most precious little boy. You are sweet and cuddily and loving and you have stolen my heart. Even though you've only been here for two months, it feels like you've been a part of our lives forever. You complete our family in a way I could have never imagined. How did we ever  feel like a family without you in it? We are blessed, for sure.